Omelas
by NowComesTheNight
Summary: Because if there is one person who can justify the suffering of a few for the prosperity of many, it's Lelouch.


**Omelas**

**Summary**: Because if there is one person who can justify the suffering of a few for the prosperity of many, it's Lelouch.

**A/N:** I got this idea to do an Omelas/Code Geass story randomly and thought... well shit, it does kind of fit. I don't know how successful I actually was in melding the two together since it isn't actually an AU, but I gave it my best go. The ending feels a bit abrupt, but it felt right so I left it as is. Hopefully this makes as much sense to all of you as it did for me.

**Warnings**: None. There is a slight bit of SuzaLulu and an overall resigned feel to this, but nothing serious or explicit.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Code Geass nor have any rights to its content. The short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" is written by Ursula K. Le Guin and I have no claims to that either.

XoxoxoX

"There will be peace."

The words were spoken softly, hung in the air as a hollow promise as he relived death and destruction that reigned in his mind. He thought he understood the extent of it, he thought he knew the price he would pay and the lives it would take. However, as he stood in front of the darkened window and let his mind wander over every battle he'd seen and all the death he was responsible for, whether inadvertently or not, he found his faith lacking again. How could peace be bred from this level of violence and cruelty? How could all of it be balanced on the head of one man?

"That's right," came a voice from behind him, just as soft and weary, "there will be peace."

Suzaku turned from the window and blinked away the haze of past horrors to stare at Lelouch where he stood in the middle of the opulent hall. He still wore those heavily embellished, white robes he favored for public appearances and held himself straight, with that unending, delicate grace he seemed to posses. However, the tone of his voice and the dimness in those usually vibrant, violet eyes told him that Lelouch was just as worn as Suzaku was. It served to remind him of how much was riding on the death of this man, and Suzaku once again questioned how peace could possibly survive when placed on the shoulders of one person.

"How?" He asked, his voice stronger and feeling vindicated. He watched as Lelouch's lips turned down ever so slightly, conveying his displeasure at being questioned. However, Suzaku pushed farther. "How, after all of this, all the deep seated hatred and cruelty, could your death possibly be all the world needs for lasting peace?"

A deafening silence hung between the two, its cadence tenuous but stifling. Finally, Lelouch moved forward to stand next to him at the window, resuming Suzaku's previous study of the impenetrable darkness. Suzaku kept his eyes on him the whole time, watching as Lelouch crossed his arms behind his back, pressed his lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes slightly. It was an expression Suzaku recognized as something the emperor did when weighing options. At least, when he didn't have a chess set at hand.

"Do you know of Omelas, Suzaku?" He blinked in surprise at Lelouch's sudden question. "The utopian society where everyone lives in peace, harmony, and prosperity?"

Suzaku thought hard about that. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't allocate a time in history where there hadn't been even a small skirmish. Not even a country that actively avoided war.

"It's a fictional place, Suzaku, from a short story written almost fifty years ago." The amused twinkle in Lelouch's eye told Suzaku that he knew what track his mind was on and how completely off it was. He simply rolled his eyes in response and waited for Lelouch to continue. "It is a place where no one wants for anything. No one suffers or causes suffering." He paused briefly before continuing.

"But there is a price to pay for this perfect world. Beneath the city, locked in a cell, the people of Omelas hold a wretched child. Ripped from the arms of its mother, it is left in the dark to rot without even basic necessities; no clothes, little food or water, no light, no warmth, not even the comfort of another human's touch." Suzaku wasn't sure where Lelouch was heading with this, but he bit his lip to keep from speaking out and continued to listen.

"Every citizen of Omelas is brought to see this child at some point, to gawk in horror at the filth and squalor the child lives in and unable to help it though they want to. Most are able to get over it and move on, because they come to the understanding that this child's suffering means they don't have to suffer. That, because they saw true cruelty, they can better appreciate their comfort and treat others kindly. However, there are a few who react differently. One day, days or even years after they've seen the child, they will stop in the middle of whatever they were doing and simply walk away. They abandon their lives and everything they have. They leave the safety of Omelas' boarders and venture into the unknown."

"Lelouch-" The emperor raised his hand to silence Suzaku before continuing.

"Do you know why they do this?" It was clearly a rhetorical question, because Lelouch pressed on before Suzaku could answer. "It's because they realize their safety, peace, and freedom is nothing but a sham. The child could have been them or could be their's and they would have no say in it. That perfect world is only superficial, because, in the end, an innocent child must be tortured in order to keep it."

Suzaku waited a moment to see if Lelouch was finished and reflect on the story. The child that was sacrificed to save all others... It left a bitter taste in Suzaku's mouth, as he supposed it was meant to. However, he still couldn't see how this story fit into Lelouch's plans or how it explains how his death would definitively create world peace. He raised his gaze and started as he realized that Lelouch was watching him closely, waiting for him to comment.

"The message in the story, I guess, is that peace cannot be meaningfully obtained through sacrifice." At Lelouch's nod, he chuckled humorlessly. "But you don't actually believe that, do you?"

A wry smile twisted the young Emperor's lips as he tilted his head to one side. "No, I don't. There is a price for everything, even peace and freedom."

"So, what? Are you trying to create your own Omelas?" Suzaku asked, trying to see Lelouch's point beneath the layers of cryptic responses.

"No... Not quite." He sought out Suzaku's gaze and held it before continuing. "Empirically, people can want peace and a government can give it to them, they can go through the motions of talks, treaties, and compromises. However, it will have little value to those in power. How can they understand true mercy when they have never witnessed true cruelty, or refused to see it? How can they know hope without feeling despair? Kindness without hatred? They have to experience all of these things, witness them... feel them."

"And you will be the whipping boy? The sacrifice?" Suzaku shook his head in bewilderment and looked away. "Leave it to you to turn yourself into a martyr." He muttered beneath his breath.

"I am not the martyr in this, Suzaku, nor am I a sacrifice." He replied quickly. "The tortured child in this are the people under my rule. The people who walked away are all those who opposed me, even those who are slated for execution. And I..." Lelouch trailed off as he reached out for Suzaku, grabbing on to his shoulder and forcing him to face him. "I am Omelas."

Suzaku gasped as an acute understanding washed over him. He locked his gaze with Lelouch and held himself a little more upright before speaking. "I see... You are making yourself the untrustworthy government, capable of justifying atrocities, that only a few have the strength to stand against. Those are the people who have come to understand what peace is truly worth and have morals that won't allow them to fall to the same methods."

"Yes." Lelouch replied with a nod, a soft, slight smile on his face. "It is enough to create a hated figure, a symbol of all that is corrupt and evil to keep the general public from wanting another superpower from forming, but there also have to be leaders who want nothing less. A world where a defenseless, innocent child doesn't have to suffer for the benefit of all. The people who have the fortitude to walk away from Omelas want nothing less. I needed to create those leaders."

"And when I kill you..."

"And when you kill me..." Lelouch's voice softened as he stepped in closer. The hand that had been resting on Suzaku's shoulder slowly trailed down his arm to wrap around his hand, Lelouch's thumb ran gently over his knuckles in a soothing manner. "You will not only become a symbol of justice and hope for the world. You will also pave the way for the right people to rule, and serve as a reassurance to the public that peace will be kept even if the government steps out of line."

A long silence stretched out between them before Suzaku took a stuttered breath and leaned into Lelouch, resting his forehead against the emperor's. He expected Lelouch to baulk at the intrusion or lean away from him, so Suzaku was surprised when he settled into the motion. The hand wrapped around his tightened in reassurance, and Suzaku took the opportunity to turn his hand and thread their fingers together.

"It won't be perfect."

"No, it won't." Lelouch confirmed. "There will still be skirmishes, distrust, and misunderstandings, but the people who walked away from Omelas aren't searching for perfection."

Nodding his head in understanding, Suzaku backed away from Lelouch enough to look him in the eye. This wasn't about creating an impossible utopia, Lelouch was under no illusions that such a thing could be achieved. Instead, he was looking for something that would create a precedence, a permanent structure and a set of laws that the world would look to once there came a generation that wouldn't remember the horrors of today. Suzaku knew what it was they searched for.

"They are looking for fairness."


End file.
